5 Demanding Professions that will Deprive you of Sleep

October 10, 2014

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There are various occupations out there that require you to forgo sleep and leave your precious bed mattress unused. A lot of those professions are vital for society to survive, while others were simply created to turn hardworking individuals like you and me into grumbling zombies.

A sleep-deprived night almost always guaranteed a groggy morning, and nobody likes that. Not only does it affect your work performance and people skills, but it also poses a threat to your own health and well-being. Here are five tough professions that will test your energy and challenge your eyelids:

SECURITY GUARDS

Risking your life to protect people or property can definitely take its toll on you. Having to be on the constant lookout for signs of the trouble is challenging enough. Now imagine having to do all this during sleeping hours. Yikes.

Such responsibility won’t seem too much if you’re with another guard and if you’re in an air-conditioned room surveying CCTV footages, but that’s not always the case. Paid with meager wages and exposed to many dangers, a security guard’s life is not for the faint-hearted.

24/7 CONVENIENCE STORE CLERKS

Here is another low-paying job that requires sleepless nights. If you think you can catch some ZZZ’s whenever there are no customers around, then you’re in for a rude awakening. Sometimes the store owner doesn’t hire security guards and janitors to cut back cost. This leaves you with the job of keeping the place clean and making sure that no one plunders the profits. And no, you’re not allowed to eat any of the snacks there for free; that’ll have to come out of your pay.

JANITORS

It’s one thing to clean up after other employees all day long, but having to stay and sweep at the premises long after everyone else has left? That’s just tragic. Being a janitor is quite tiring and lonesome. During the busy hours of the day, you’re expected to be on hand in case something messy needs to be dealt with. At night, you’re in charge of making sure the rooms and hallways of the building stay spotless. And like the security guard, you’re accountable for all the stuff there; they’ll question you first if anything goes missing.

NURSES

Nurses are required to work in shifting schedules. Sometimes they get only a couple of hour’s worth of sleep for a time frame of two to three days if the situation at the hospital is really bad. There are times when they also have to deal with complaining and irritable patients as well as their superiors and colleagues. And to top it all off, they don’t get good compensation for all the work they do.

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES

This is the ultimate sleep destroyer among jobs. You function very much like 911, except you’re more likely to deal with dull, everyday stuff. You listen to countless complaints (and sometimes threats) and do your very best to come up with solutions that they can understand and follow. Like nurses, you’re required to work at shifting schedules. You need to report to work daily, even if the weather outside is intense enough to levitate a bus.

We’re not saying that these professions are horrible. In fact, we give tremendous respect and gratitude to these people who sacrifice precious slumber in order to serve, protect, and nurture us. So the next time you come across these sturdy souls, show them a gesture of appreciation and they might just sleep a bit more soundly the next time they can catch some shut-eye.